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Indian equities ended on a mixed note on Friday after a choppy session, as investors booked profits following a recent rally. Gains in PSU banks, metal, and financial stocks helped limit the downside, even as weakness in IT and FMCG counters weighed on overall sentiment.

The BSE Sensex closed at 83,216.28, down 94.73 points or 0.11 per cent, after opening at 83,311.01 and hitting an intraday low of 82,670.95, down by 640 points. The NSE Nifty 50 ended marginally lower at 25,492.30, down 17.40 points or 0.07 per cent.

Market breadth was fairly balanced, with 1,589 stocks advancing, 1,526 declining, and 96 remaining unchanged out of a total of 3,211 traded stocks. Around 54 stocks hit 52-week highs, while 172 stocks touched new 52-week lows.

Among the BSE Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance (+2.40 per cent), Tata Steel (+2.28 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (+1.96 per cent), M&M (+1.74 per cent), and ICICI Bank (+1.71 per cent) were the top gainers. Other notable gainers included BEL (+1.43 per cent), Adani Ports (+0.93 per cent), Infosys (+0.76 per cent), and Power Grid (+0.57 per cent).

On the losing side, Bharti Airtel (-4.46 per cent) was the biggest drag on the index, followed by Tech Mahindra (-1.91 per cent), Trent (-1.25 per cent), Reliance Industries (-1.17 per cent), and HCL Tech (-0.92 per cent). Other notable laggards included Hindustan Unilever (-0.91 per cent), ITC (-0.81 per cent), and TCS (-0.54 per cent).

Sectoral performance was mixed on the NSE. The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.87 per cent, leading the day’s gains, followed by Nifty Metal (up 1.41 per cent), Nifty Financial Services (up 0.76 per cent), and Nifty Bank (up 0.56 per cent). The Nifty Auto index also advanced 0.57 per cent, supported by strong buying in M&M and Tata Motors.

On the other hand, profit-taking dragged the Nifty IT (-0.62 per cent), Nifty FMCG (-0.49 per cent), and Nifty Pharma (-0.36 per cent) indices lower. Nifty Realty and Nifty Energy ended almost flat.

Broader indices reflected a mixed tone — the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.63 per cent, and the Nifty Midcap 50 gained 0.59 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 and Smallcap 250 fell 0.16 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively. The Nifty 500 closed slightly positive, up 0.04 per cent, and the Nifty Next 50 gained 0.10 per cent.

Market analysts said that Friday’s rebound in PSU banks and select metals helped cushion the decline in benchmark indices. However, persistent foreign investor outflows, a cautious global mood, and profit-taking after October’s strong rally limited the upside.

Anubhav Maurya is a Senior Sub-Editor at Zee Business, focusing on the stock market, personal finance, corporate news, and related sectors.

He has previously worked wi